All the other features highlighted in their product page sounded fantastic, and it looks rad.

Here are some scenarios where I’d use my Boosted Rev:

Car isn’t available.

Not pressed for time, or am able to carefully plan my route.

Short trips within a few miles from home, or relatively close to a Metro rail or subway station.

Go somewhere near a Metrolink station.

While I have a car, using it only when necessary would obviously be better.

Where have I been?

The day the Boosted Rev was delivered, I fully charged it, then went to Target in hopes they had cans of compressed air. (They didn’t.) Taking a cue from "Boosted Luke" on YouTube (he isn’t affiliated with Boosted), I walked it into the store, did my best keeping clear of everyone, and avoided blocking aisles. None of the employees objected (and all seemed super preoccupied). If any stopped and looked more closely, I would’ve happily asked for express permission.

Early morning errand to Office Depot, 4.6 miles round trip. Walked it inside, and none of the employees spoke up. (Compressed air acquired, and the “N” key on my 2017 13-inch MacBook Pro works again.) Also rode by parked motorcycle police a couple of times, and they didn’t call out to me or pay attention.

Late lunch at a place serving Mexican food. Outdoor seating only, and I kept the scooter next to me. The place was empty. On the way home, a police SUV drove by. It didn’t make a hard U-turn to come after me, so that was a relief.

Early morning breakfast at Jack in the Box. I brought it inside, asked, and was allowed to keep it with me.

Another morning, I went to a place that has good breakfast burritos. There wasn’t a dedicated bike rack, so I locked it along a rail directly in front of the place. Chose not to ask this time, but they probably would’ve allowed it. Ample room under their tables, I could’ve probably folded it, too.

Successfully did a late night test ride to and from a Metro Gold Line station. The headlight looked sufficient for Eco mode (2).

A day later, rode to that same Metro Gold Line station, went a few stops, ate breakfast, then got a haircut. Both places let me bring it inside (I asked). I kept it folded down, tucked away from foot traffic. At Corner Bakery, I also charged it for 25 minutes (13% increase). Longest cumulative day ride so far of 8.8 miles, with the longest two legs of 3.2 miles each.

Public transportation

Los Angeles Metro rail and subway allows electric scooters in designated areas marked with yellow labels (bicycles, baby strollers, and luggage). Tough if there already two bicycles there, but I noticed other cyclists that board after the fact don’t stand in the designated area.

Other Notes

I assembled the scooter as described by Boosted in their unboxing video. Feels solid. Whenever I fold it down, I make sure to press down on the rear fender stomp brake. Only "issue" was one of the cable grommets — just below the handlebar assembly — wasn’t seated at all. I reinserted it as best I could.

So far, no issue with unlatching while carrying the scooter up or down one flight of stairs. I’m probably getting used to the weight.

On Eco mode (2), I estimate my range should fall between 10–13 miles. Caveat will always be “depending on conditions”, but I generally ride on flat conditions, with occasional inclines. Since I’ll carry my two locks with me in a backpack, I’m always willing to bring the charger to get more range.

Boosted app is glitchy, and the odometer is incorrect. I was initially able to register my Boosted Rev. Since then, whenever I power on and connect my Rev, my vehicle in the profile tab always says “disconnected”.

Two people asked if it was one of those rentals, and one of them asked about the charge time and range.

As I ate breakfast one morning, I noticed a man getting into his car, who noticably slowed down when his eye caught the folded — and locked — scooter, staring with great interest. (Cue “Hello” by Lionel Richie.)

An older woman asked if I ride it on the sidewalk, and I corrected her that it was against California law. She also wanted to introduce me to some guy who rides a skateboard. No idea if he had an electric skateboard. Boosted Board? Alt-wheels pride, perhaps? 😄

I like having a beautiful scooter behind me during Zoom calls at work. Otherwise, the wall is empty (at the moment). 😎

Like this:

I’ve been using AirPods for about eight days. Feels great without the cord, and sounds good across lots of podcasts, music, and video. They stay in while smashing tickets, eating a meal, washing dishes, taking a walk, or riding a bus. I’ve also worn them successfully while lying in bed for a short period of time. They won’t stay in if I fall asleep, which I expected.

I’m usually around a power source, so I haven’t thought of battery life in depth. However, air travel is in my future,1 and I plan to leave my Sony MDR-7506 headphones at home to free up space in my backpack.

Looking at Apple’s product page, I haven’t used Siri with them yet. Perhaps I need to find some podcast episodes for very simple ideas. Suggestions welcome!2

A few times, I mentioned to Amy that wearing them makes me think of something from an episode of Black Mirror. Pretty trippy.

Along with my pal, Ryan Cowles, we took public transportation from Pasadena to Anaheim early Thursday morning.2 After arriving at ARTIC (Anaheim), we went to the pickup area, and I requested a Lyft driver. 3 minutes — cool!

The time estimate was accurate, and I also received a text messsage right when we saw the car. Nice. Davey was friendly, and the drive was smooth.

I love everything about the ride history shown in the Lyft app. Davey drove us from ARTIC to Anaheim Marriott Suites in eleven minutes. 🙂

As we tried to find the place to get our exhibitor badges, it took me about five minutes to realize that I forgot my DSLR camera in his car.3

Doing my best to stay calm, I opened the Lyft app, went to Ride History, and spotted “Find lost item” at the bottom. I described my lost item, entered my Google Voice number, and waited.

Eight minutes after Hideto dropped us off, he returned my call, and said he could meet me where we were earlier. Happy ending! He was super cool about it, too.

With my camera in hands, I was like:

On Saturday morning, the third driver (Joshua) picked me up at Marriott Anaheim Suites for part of my journey back to Pasadena. Really nice person, incredibly gregarious (despite being sleep deprived), and the drive was smooth.

Binaural beats can help you relax, meditate, sleep, or even concentrate.

Binaural is the simplest, easiest to use binaural beats generator. Just pick a frequency, hit play, and it’ll do the rest.

I took a short break before a final hour of work this afternoon. Selecting an alpha frequency and medium rain setting, I placed headphones on my ears, sat in our comfortable bamboo rattan chair (which can lean back and rock a bit), and passed out within a few moments for fifteen minutes.1 After the noise stopped, I woke up and felt refreshed. Incredible, and free. Give it a try.

Aside: I wrote this post a few months ago.

I used the built–in timer in the Clock app. For the option When Timer Ends, choose “Stop Playing”. Binaural also has a timer if you buy the IAP for $2.99. I wrote this before the feature was added on November 12, 2014. ↩

Like this:

I was stoked to receive a The Roost as one of several awesome Automattic Christmas gifts a few months ago. While it wouldn’t fit my 11″ MacBook Air, I saw Joey Kudish receive one that would fit. After a few pings and a couple of days, a custom Roost stand arrived.